Intricate Emotions
by saiki.kensuke.yuuta
Summary: They say opposites attract, so how hard can this love really be? [My first shot at this fandom. This is also my first try at a new style of writing, a bit more serious than my usual fics. Please read and review!] MomoKai
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **This first chapter is so short, so I'm just going to put everything in the second chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or their characters...though I wish I owned Momo and Kaidoh!

* * *

**Intricate Emotions**

_Prologue_

_Momoshiro Takeshi rushed out onto the tennis court with enthusiasm. He was now eighteen, four years past his junior high playing years. He hadn't played a game since he left Seigaku Academy. He had signed up for this particular tournament for the fun of it. Inui Sadaharu had called him several months before to get him to join. He had wondered how Inui even got a hold of his number in the first place, but then again, this was __Inui; therefore that was just a silly question._

_So there he was now on the court. He looked out at the cheering crowd. He smiled when he recognized some people from Seigaku in the stands. He was faintly surprised to see some of his old pals in the stands as well too; Kawamura, Oishi, Tezuka, Eishi, and Inui. He sighed when he didn't see Fuji or Ryoma. He assumed that they were part of the tournament and that he would run into them eventually._

_His attention returned to the court when the crowd began cheering wildly again. Momoshiro turned to face his opponent. He slowly raised his racket to his chest and stopped mid-action. His violet orbs locked with familiar onyx ones. He was suddenly breathless. The other player seemed to be in shock at first too, but then that same old cocky smirk graced the other player's lips._

_Momoshiro felt the corners of his lips twitch as he broke into a small smile._

* * *

**Saikenyuu:** This is my first time writing for this fandom. I'm not too familiar with the series but I know that these two are my ultimate favorites! 


	2. Valentine's Day

**Author's Note: **Wow, I felt really light-headed when I was writing this. I don't know if that just means I'm sleep/creativity deprived or if this story really isn't hitting any jackpot. Well, I guess I'll have to depend on the readers for that feedback! Although, when I think about it...it may be because I'm trying to make fluid actions work in this fic instead of my usual jam-packed stuff...not that it's really jam-packed at all, but it just seemed quicker to me in the other ones. (Insert sweatdrop here.) Gosh, even my author's notes seem kind of dry...wait a minute! DOES THIS MEAN I AM GETTING OLD??? (I know, I know, a little too early for a mid-life crisis.)

**Disclaimer and Warnings:** All in Prologue chapter. Oh yeah! And a little dash of angst here...and drama there...fufufu. Oh! And if I ever mention family members in here, they're probably going to be all made up. I know that Momo has two younger siblings in grade school and Hazue is Kaidoh's 11 year old younger brother, but in this story I'm going to be throwing in an older sister into their family as well, of my creation. So that means something in here besides the plot belongs to me! MUAHAHAH! (Okay...power trip _over_.)

**Chapter Note: **For some reason I really like this pairing, though it doesn't seem to be too popular. Then again, I just love these two characters in general, so that might be why!

Anyway, I hope that this fic will meet reader's standards! This'll be the official "pilot chapter" for this fic. Let's see what you guys think. If there's anything you'd like to see more of, please mention it in your review, I'll see if there's anything I can do about it!

_As usual, reviews are appreciated!  
_

* * *

_Valentine's Day_

"H-here, senpai! Please accept this!"

"Mine too!"

"Here you go, Oishi senpai!"

"Ahh! Tezuka-san accepted my gift!"

Momoshiro sighed as yet another squealing girl placed a gift on the desk of her tennis player of choice. He watched with slight annoyance as the gift piles on the all the desks of the Seigaku dream team players slowly seemed to increase. Even his rival, snake-boy Kaidoh Kaoru, accumulated a decent amount. Momoshiro hated Valentine's Day. To be honest, he didn't think any of the girls in his school were that attractive, so even if he received a gift he would get nothing out of it, but he still wished he could receive at least _one _gift, just so he didn't feel so forgotten.

Right away Oishi noticed his friend's distress. He politely excused himself from his fangirls and walked over to his glum friend. He patted his friend on the back and smiled.

"Hey, Momo, wanna share some of my candies with me? I won't be able to finish them all!"

Momoshiro gave Oishi a small smile and shook his head. "Nah. Thanks though."

Oishi's shoulder's slumped a little. "Okay...if you're sure."

"Yep. Positive."

"Cheer up, Momo! I didn't get any chocolates either!" Kawamura said as he walked up to the two boys.

Momoshiro half-smiled, "That's because the girls know you're allergic to peanuts, Kawamura. I've seen some girls give you flowers instead."

Kawamura blushed. "H-hey! It's probably just because they feel sorry for me, you know? Besides, you know Tezuka and Oishi are the most popular in our class! Between us and them, no contest!"

"Yea, I know..." Momoshiro rose from his seat, "Thanks, guys. Don't worry about me, I'm all right. I just hate sappy days like today."

Oishi looked at his friend worriedly, "Hey, where are you going, Momo?"

"Walking."

His two friends remained silent as they watched their friend leave the room. Oishi looked like he was about to go after his friend, but Kawamura caught his wrist and shook his head.

"Let's give him some time alone. If he doesn't show up for practice, then we can go hunt for Momo."

"All right..." Oishi agreed reluctantly and returned to the sea of girls hovering at their desks; they weren't the only ones concerned.

Kaidoh had also been watching Momoshiro slink deeper and deeper into his Valentine's Day depression. Unlike Momoshiro's closer friends, Kaidoh had been a bit slow on the uptake—he had been too busy inwardly grumbling over what the girls had given him. Sure it was considerate and maybe even unexpected that any girl had the courage to give him a gift at all, but he was thoroughly disappointed by the endless useless products his fans had showered him with, if that was indeed what they were. He had been showered with chocolates, pencils, cute packs of paper—which he had no idea what he was going to use that for, two carnations, and even a random pair of socks; not a single bandanna. He wondered how they could be his "adoring fans" if they had no clue what he actually lived and breathed on besides tennis.

He had decided within himself that the best way to get over his current annoyance and make his own day was to pick on his favorite subject for torment, Momoshiro. He was going to tease the boy for having so many presents and being a ladies man, and then he was going to steal from his stash whatever looked pleasing to the eye, just to annoy him even further. Except, when he looked over at his rival's desk all he saw was Momoshiro's wistful eyes and felt a dark aura emitting from his direction. Kaidoh had felt guilty instantly, which made him angry. His rival could still bother him even when they weren't on the tennis court. He stopped Kawamura on his way back.

Kawamura raised an eyebrow. "What's up, Kaoru?"

"What was wrong with the moron?"

Kawamura frowned at the name but decided to answer him because Kaidoh didn't emphasize the bad nickname the way he usually did. "Well, it's kind of obvious, isn't it? I mean, c'mon, even _you're _getting something from these girls..."

"Oh..." the viper dropped his hand and let the other pass.

Thinking nothing more of their conversation, Kawamura continued his way. As for Kaidoh, now he was even more ticked off. Just like his rival. "If only he paid as much attention to practicing tennis as he does to girls," Kaidoh found himself thinking in annoyance.

* * *

He couldn't believe he was doing this, but yet he was. Well, he was only doing it because he was sick of the rest of the world taking credit for his rival's torment. It just wasn't worth sitting in class when his rival was already in a down mood. That just meant that if Kaidoh got frustrated with a problem, he wouldn't be able to take it out on Momo and get the full joy of tormenting the boy. 

So that brought him to his current state. He had left school, for probably the first time in his life, now that he thought about it, and he had gone and bought several chocolates and some Valentine's cards; all stuffed in his backpack which he had taken with him. He had debated going back to the school but realized that it might not be such a great idea since there was only one class period left in the day to attend. Besides, he was already exhausted from having had to walk everywhere to gather his supplies. So with about an hour left to kill before he was expected by his parents and sister to come home from school, he decided to make a pit-stop at a flower shop. He had a good amount of money left, and while he browsed flowers he was still trying to remember why he had been carrying so much money around with him in the first place, there was no way he could've known that his day would've turned out like this. The thought continued to bother him until the shop's owner coughed lightly to get his attention. Kaidoh looked up at the young woman, aged probably around her mid-thirties. It was a shame too, she was rather attractive.

The woman smiled at him. "May I help you?"

Kaidoh blinked. "Uh...I guess."

She continued to smile warmly at him. It was nice, but it made Kaidoh a bit nervous at the same time; he wasn't used to being smiled at. "Would you like to get some flowers for someone on this special day?"

His left eye almost twitched at the last part. Kaidoh looked back at the array of flowers in the shop and sighed. He _did _have some money left in his pocket, and this woman really didn't seem like the usual pricks in the world he had to deal with. He almost smirked when he saw an image of Momo flash in his mind. Kaidoh remained in fantasy world for a few seconds longer before returning to earth and nodding at the woman.

"Yeah, what's the best flower you've got?"

"Who's it for?"

Kaidoh raised an eyebrow at this question. The woman seemed to be prying so suddenly. "Er...does it matter...?"

"Oh!" the woman blushed and brought a hand up to her mouth, "I'm sorry, young man! I didn't want to make it sound like I was prying..."

Kaidoh looked at her skeptically. The woman continued, "It's just that, each flower has a different meaning. A flower you would buy for your girlfriend would probably not be the same one you'd like to get your mother, nor would you want to give someone a flower suitable for a funeral on a happy day such as this one."

"Oh," Kaidoh said, now understanding.

"Since today is Valentine's Day, I'm assuming you would like to get something for your girlfriend?"

Kaidoh was about to protest at the mention of a girlfriend, but then he thought about the situation. It would seem more awkward saying that he was buying a flower for a guy than saying he had a girlfriend. He would rather not be humiliated.

"Erm...sort of," he said; he didn't want her to get any strange ideas either.

"Oh?" the woman asked curiously, her smile seemed to get bigger, if that was even possible, "So it's a _secret _valentine, then!"

Kaidoh was seriously ready to just leave the store, he felt disgusted. He barely remembered that the only reason he had come into the store in the first place was to kill some time and randomly pick a flower. He didn't realize that it was going to be so complex.

"Yea-yea. Sure, lady. Whatever you want to think."

The woman laughed off his rudeness as an embarrassed young lovebird. "My, my! No need to get so defensive, my dear! I have just the perfect flower for you."

She walked down the aisles and found what she was looking for. She brought the flowers to the front counter and made a beautiful bouquet of them, added a nice ribbon as a special touch, and handed the flowers to Kaidoh. "Here you are!"

Kaidoh took the bouquet and looked at them for a moment. They were not a breed he recognized. The woman laughed. "They're called Acacia."

"Oh..." Kaidoh said dumbly, it seemed like that was all he could say to this woman—he knew nothing about flowers.

He rummaged for his wallet. "How much?"

The woman smiled, "Don't you worry about it, sweetheart. It's on me."

Kaidoh blushed and he felt guilty since he really wasn't buying this for a girl, so basically he was cheating this woman of her store profits. "N-no really, I..."

The next thing he knew, the woman was gently leading him out the store. "Now, now. You can pay me for another batch of flowers for her if everything goes well, the next time you come around. Just consider this a token to wish you good luck! Now go on! Those flowers won't stay fresh forever if you just stand here!"

Kaidoh looked helplessly as the woman went back into the store. He felt a bit stupid standing there with flowers in one hand and the other lightly brushing his wallet in his pocket. After a few minutes he sighed and decided to head on home; if he didn't start now he was going to be late. He made a mental note on the way to pay back the kind woman later, somehow.

* * *

"Come on, Kei! Just help me out..._please_," Kaidoh said the last word with gritted teeth along with a hiss. 

He really couldn't believe he was doing this. He had just vaguely told his sister about the situation. He was stooping so low as to begging his little sister to help him. Kei was in her last year of high school.

His sister raised an eyebrow at him, "Okay, but you owe me any chocolates you got from girls today! You're going to make my hand hurt!"

Kaidoh nodded, "Done. I never really wanted those chocolates anyway. You can have them all."

"Really," Kei blinked in disbelief.

"Really," Kaidoh said without showing any hint of reluctance.

"Excellent! Then let's get started!"

Kaidoh couldn't help but smile a little. His older sister was lifting his spirits. They fought sometimes, but really they got along extremely well. He took off his backpack and emptied its contents. He slapped Kei lightly on the arm when she reached for the chocolates that came out of the bag.

Kei frowned, "I thought you said I could have those?"

Kaidoh rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Chocolates from _girls_, not the chocolates I bought with my _own money_."

"Oh," Kei laughed, "So where are the chocolates from the girls then?"

"Here," Kaidoh untied a plastic bag from one of the backpack straps and tossed it over to his sister, who caught it, "There should be other stuff in there too."

His sister peered inside and he couldn't help but chuckle at her pleased expression, it was so childish. "Wow! You're totally missing out on some good stuff here!"

"Heh. I'd rather get a whole set of bandannas."

Kei stuck out her tongue at her younger brother, "Geez, just like you to be so ungrateful."

They got to sitting and Kaidoh began separating the chocolates and small gifts from the many small valentine's cards he had bought. Kei got out a pen and scratched it lightly on her hand to check if the ink was working. She looked around the ground at her brother's neat piles and half-smiled.

"So, who's this for, anyway?" she asked as she picked up one of the valentine's cards.

"Um..." Kaidoh didn't really want to tell his sister since she knew about his and Momo's history together, "Can't it just all be anonymous?"

"That'd be kind of weird, wouldn't you think?" she picked up one of Kaidoh's cards that was attached to one of his chocolates, "Just tell me the name and I'll model it after one of yours!"

Kaidoh sighed, there was no real avoiding it. "...o...iro," he mumbled.

Kei frowned, "What?"

"...moshiro," Kaidoh grunted again.

His sister smacked him on the head with one of the big bar chocolates. "H-hey!" Kaidoh rubbed his head.

His sister glared, "Look, do you want me to do this for you or not?"

"...yes," Kaidoh said hesitantly.

"Then speak clearly!"

"All right! Fine!" Kaidoh said frustratedly, "Momoshiro! Okay? There, now I said it."

Kei raised an eyebrow in question, "Eh? _The _Momoshiro? As in Momo-chan Momoshiro? I thought you hated him!"

Kaidoh wanted to shrink and crawl away. "Would you just write the cards!" he snapped in irritation.

"Hm...all right," Kei began to work away at a few cards while her brother watched her in silence.

She took a break after a few cards and looked at her brother again. "You know..."

"Yea?" Kaidoh responded rather quickly, his tone of voice a bit defensive.

If her brother didn't seem so stressed, Kei would've burst out laughing. "Why didn't you just use the chocolates and cards you got from the girls today? That would still solve your problem, wouldn't it? Since it's Momo?"

"Hn..."

"Well?"

Kaidoh sighed and got up. "I just want it done _this way_, okay? Geez. I'm going to take a shower."

Kei gave a small smile, "All right..."

Kaidoh got up to leave. He stopped at the door. "Besides..."

"Hm?" Kei didn't look up, she was busy writing another card.

"Re-gifting...it cramps my style," was all he said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Kei laughed softly to herself and moved on to the next card. "Oh yeah? Since when?" she asked no one.

* * *

After the shower, Kaidoh entered his room and smiled when he saw that his sister had everything in a plastic bag on his bed and ready to go for tomorrow. He stopped by his room to thank her on the way to get a towel to dry his hair, but Kei was already asleep. 

"Thanks, sis..." he whispered into the room before closing the door and going back to his.

He was feeling a bit more upbeat for some reason and he decided to go settle with some video games before going to bed. He played some old games he had already defeated ages ago on his Playstation on mute, so as not to wake anyone in the house, before going to bed. It was a peaceful sleep until he was suddenly jolted out of his dreams. Kaidoh pulled at his hair and his eyes were filled with fury, not that he could direct it at anyone at the moment. His mouth was agape with no noise coming out of it, though he really wanted to scream. _Now _he remembered why he had so much money with him earlier.

He had wanted to buy a Nintendo Wii.

* * *

"Damnit!" Kaidoh slammed his fist on the locker. 

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Kaidoh jumped at the sound of Momoshiro's voice. He turned around quickly and pressed his back against the lockers, his hands working behind him. "W-what does it look like? I can't figure out my damn combination."

Momo was not amused. "Isn't your locker _that _one?" he pointed two lockers down.

Kaidoh glared at him. "Y-yeah? What's your point!"

Momoshiro rolled his eyes and pushed Kaidoh out of the way. Kaidoh wiped away his sweat as he watched Momo open his locker. He had no idea how he had done it without looking, but Kaidoh had managed to snap the lock back on the locker before Momo could realize that he had already opened it.

"Whoa!" Momo exclaimed in surprise as the gifts flowed out of his locker.

Kaidoh let out a sigh. He had bought a little too many things because he had misjudged how deep their lockers were, and he had just had a hell of a time trying to fit it in there in the first place. He as partially relieved that Momoshiro seemed to appreciate everything, but he was a bit annoyed that he had come to enjoy himself so early. It made Kaidoh feel like he had wasted a little _too _much effort, stuffing the gifts in the locker. Kaidoh was now officially irritated with his rival again.

"Wow...valentines? That's weird...that was yesterday...why all this today?" Momo was beginning to inspect the cards.

"Maybe they just wanted to surprise you because there's so many. They didn't want to make the others jealous," Kaidoh snapped right away, he didn't want the slightly shorter boy to notice that there were a lot of similarities between the cards and the chocolates.

"Yea maybe, but geez, what's your damage?" violet eyes were now glaring up at onyx ones.

"You're just so pathetic. What's so great about gifts from sniveling little girls anyways?" Kaidoh felt better, this is what he had wanted to do yesterday.

He almost broke out grinning when he saw the irritation rise on Momoshiro's face. All of his stress from the day before seemed practically worth it now.

Momo was angry. "I'm not pathetic! Besides, I bet if you didn't get anything yesterday instead of me, you would be excited if something like this happened to you too!"

Kaidoh smirked. "That's where you're wrong."

Momo frowned, "Huh?"

Kaidoh snickered, "If _that _was the case, then I would just simply do this!"

He reached over and took one of the smaller chocolates from the other boy's stash and popped it in his mouth and grinned. Momoshiro's jaw dropped. His expression became fierce. "Hey! That was mine!"

Kaidoh smirked, "I know! And this was from..."

He opened the card that was attached to that particular chocolate and read it with his eyes to see what his sister had written. It said: _"Dear Momo-chan, I really hope you enjoy this small chocolate, but I hope you like my flowers even—"_

Kaidoh paled, he had forgotten the flowers! Momoshiro frowned at him and snatched the card back. "Hey, I hope you know this is—" Momoshiro didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, Kaidoh had already bolted away.

Frowning at the viper's weird behavior, violet eyes resumed scanning over his newly won prizes happily. He was too excited to notice the similarities amongst them.

* * *

"Here." 

Momoshiro looked up at Kaioh's outstretched arm holding the flowers in confusion. It was lunchtime; Momo was sitting with Oishi, Tezuka, and Inui. They had been joking around together until Kaidoh randomly appeared with the acacias. Kaidoh glared at Momoshiro.

"Well? Aren't you going to take them?"

"Erm...thanks?" he accepted the flowers cautiously and never took his eyes off of Kaidoh for a second.

Kaidoh let out a small sigh of relief. Luckily his sister had a half day schedule for seniors, so she was home during their lunch break. He had to endure the humiliation of her teasing on the phone when he had called her, asking her to bring the flowers to him.

The young viper was about to leave, but he turned back around quickly, realizing something. A light blush that was hardly noticeable rose on his face. "H-hey! Don't get the wrong idea. That's not from me!"

"Oh," was Momo's reply, he was unsure how to take this.

"It...it was from some girl I ran into. She asked me to forward them to you...she meant to give it to you with whatever else she got you...and...yea, that's it," Kaidoh turned and practically sprinted away while cursing to himself for being so wordy in his weak explanation.

"Hm...stupid mamushi..." Momo said mostly to himself.

"Yea, I agree," said Oishi, "But those look like some nice flowers, Momo! Someone must really like you!"

"Yeah!" Momoshiro said excitedly, "And mamushi said that they were _forwarded_ to him, so that means the girl isn't from this school! I'm even popular outside! They _must _have seen me play at some tournament!"

"Yea, maybe!" Oishi agreed.

"Hn...interesting," Inui said while pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Huh? What is it?" Momo asked curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing special. It just seems whoever gave you the flowers knows what they're doing."

"What do you mean?" Oishi asked.

"Well, if I'm assuming correctly, that particular breed of flower has several meanings...but I think what the person is _trying _to say, is that she likes you, but you don't know her well enough to make an opinion yet. To put it bluntly, c_oncealed love._"

"Wow! All that from a flower?" Oishi stared hard at the flowers in Momoshiro's hand, as if expecting the flowers to speak or something.

"Yes."

Momoshiro looked at the bouquet. _"So someone really likes me...this makes this bouquet different from all these other belated valentines," _he thought, _"I wonder if she's cute..."_

Tezuka remained silent and contemplative.

* * *

**Saikenyuu:**Wow...(insert sweatdrop here), that definitely lasted a whole heck longer than I expected. I only planned on having this chapter last about 3 pages! LOL! Well, I hope you enjoyed what's here...I shall be working on the next one in the meantime. 

Please review if you have the time! I would love to hear from you.


	3. Back to Business

**Author's Note: **Well, only reason this chapter is up is because at least a small handful of you seem to want this to continue! Enjoy the next chapter, guys!

**Pairing(s): **Momo x Kaidoh

**Disclaimer and Warnings: **Refer to the first two chapters of this plot!

**Fic Note: **Not sure how long this fic is going to be...I've planned it out to be at least a little over five chapters, I have so much plot planned out. I guess we'll just see!

Please continue to review if you can, I really appreciate the boost!

* * *

_Back to Business_

Normally, Momo hated training. He just felt that sometimes there was more to life than training all day long. Like his rival Kaidoh, for instance. Normally he would feel this way, but today was not a normal day. Today, Momoshiro Takeshi had a lot on his mind.

_Thwap!_ He concentrated on every hit as he practiced with the wall. He was playing against the wall aggressively, trying to whack the thoughts from his mind along with the ball.

_Whap! _Ever since three weeks before, Valentine's Day, Momo found himself wondering about the girl. He had gone home and found the card that mentioned flowers and read it over and over, but it seemed no different from the rest of his gifts except for the fact that this girl gave him flowers and there was a specific meaning behind them. It left him curious and wanting to know more.

_Whack! _He wondered if he could ever ask the prick snake-boy about her. He wondered if Kaidoh had a good enough brain to remember what she looked like. He grinned to himself at his own little joke.

"If practicing is so entertaining, maybe you should try to do it more often," the familiar cool voice snapped him out of his thoughts and caused him to miss the ball.

momoshiro scowled and turned to face Kaidoh. "Teme..."

The other smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment. _Lazy ass._"

Momo let the first insult of the day slide and watched as Kaidoh began to unpack his things on the practice court. "Hmph. Well, what are _you _doing here so early?" he asked his rival, for lack of anything better to say to start a conversation.

Kaidoh looked at him with an expression that seemed to be a cross between disbelief and annoyance. "Practicing, what do you think?"

"But this early?"

"I'll have you know, I practice this early _every _day. Ch, but it really is none of your business," Kaidoh said and turned his back to Momo as he began to dribble a tennis ball with his racket.

Momoshiro envisioned throwing his racket at Kaidoh's head and hearing it land with a loud and satisfying smack. He would have, too, if he didn't want anything from the arrogant viper. He backed away to give Kaidoh a little room to start practicing, and then he tried again with conversation.

"Hey, you know that gi—"

"Kaidoh! Oh, and Momo-chan, what a surprise!" the voice belonged to Oishi.

Kaidoh caught the tennis ball he was using with his hand and raised an eyebrow at Momoshiro because of his unfinished sentence before acknowledging Syuichiroh. "Hey..."

The rest of Seigaku's team filed onto the court, close behind Oishi. "Well, well!" Eiji grinned and patted Momoshiro on the back, "Look who decided to actually show up _before _practice!"

Momo blushed, "Hey! I'm not _that _late all the time, am I?"

Kaidoh snorted, earning himself a glare from Momo. Fuiji chuckled at him, "Oh, but you are!"

"You are usually about a good twenty minutes late," Inui informed helpfully.

Momo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Geez, guys...can't you cut a guy some slack?"

"Hn...if you ask me, we cut you way _too much _slack," the viper hissed.

The other turned, about to get aggressive. "Oh shut up, _mamushi_."

Kaidoh's eyes narrowed. "Don't call me that, moron."

"Hah! I'll call you whatever the heck I want! _Mamushi_!"

"Baka!" the snake-boy lunged at his rival.

momoshiro side-stepped out of the way and stuck out his tongue. "Teme!"

"That's enough!"

Both boys stopped in their tracks at the sound of their team captain's steely voice. "Aw, you had to come so soon...!" Eiji complained, "The fighting was just about to get good!"

"Actually, Eiji, Tezuka-san has actually arrive _on time_. So the fight actually started a bit too late. There was less than ten percent chance that anything could have happened before his arrival," Inui stated matter-of-factly.

Eiji grumbled, "Less then ten percent...ch. Something coulda happened!"

"But as usual, Sadaharu has proven himself very accurate in his prediction," Tezuka spoke again, "Now. Since we're all here on time...a rare occurrence, we should get started. We have a tight schedule to wrap this year up with."

"Eh? Why? We only have two big ones left!" Kawamura said confusedly, "How can we be on a tight schedule?"

"Because Inui found out important information for next year," said Fuji.

"Next year? What kind of information?" Momo tilted his head to the side.

Inui cleared his throat and opened his little notebook which had freshly written notes scribbled on several pages inside. He flipped to the beginning of them.

"First off, it seems that we will be going up against a child sometime soon. There are already rumors flying around about it. Echizen, I believe is the boy's family name."

"Yeah? And what else?" Eiji asked impatiently, "I'm sure the boy will be no match against us."

"Hm...I wouldn't underestimate this one, though he _is _a seventh grader," Inui said.

"What! A seventh grader! Oh, ho, ho! Give me a break, then! We can squash him in a jiff!" Eiji said with confidence.

Kaidoh snorted and Momo didn't seem as concerned about that highlight either. Tezuka frowned. "Preparing for a match against the boy is still a part of our agenda."

"Sure it is," Kawamura snickered but his grin faded when he saw the leader's facial expression.

Tezuka turned his attention backed to Inui and nodded once, at him. The boy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again and continued, "And let's see...oh! Tezuka would also like to start holding practices every weekend, that means Saturday and Sunday, afternoon sessions on top of our after school ones."

"What! Why is that, Tezuka-san?" Momo asked.

Tezuka half-smiled, "Next year, there will be more double matches open to us since you two are going to be second years next year."

He pointed at Kaidoh and Momo. The viper narrowed his eyes and hissed, "Well, don't worry about me. I'll be fine with whoever I get paired with—I've been practicing every single day."

The leader gave a thin smile and there seemed to be an evil glint of sunlight bouncing off his glasses. "Good. Then I suppose you'll do fine under Inui's arrangements. He has already paired everyone for next year."

Kaidoh felt his heart sink a bit, he didn't like the captain's smile. "What do you mean...?" he asked cautiously.

Tezuka looked straight at Kaidoh and gave him and even chillier smile. "Inui...perhaps we should read off the pairings now."

Inui grinned, it seemed almost sadistically, "Yes, of course. What a great idea."

They all waited in anticipation as Inui read off the list. "Well, first we have Oishi with Eiji..."

"All right!" the two boys said in unison as they high-fived each other.

"We'll have no problems!" Eiji grinned.

"Of course not," said Inui, "You will have at best a ninety-five percent success rate."

"Sounds good to me!"

"All right. Next, we'll have Fuji with myself, Tezuka with Kawamura, and then—"

"Stop!!!!" Momo and Kaidoh said in unison.

They exchanged glares. Kaidoh was the first to speak, "I will not be paired with _this _imbecile!"

Momoshiro snorted, "And I won't be paired with a prick!"

"Ugh! Besides, wouldn't I do better if I doubled with you, Inui? I'm more familiar with your technique."

"Yea, and Kawamura is easier to work with!" Momoshiro whined.

"Do you doubt his calculations?" Tezuka challenged.

"..." the two fell silent and glared daggers at each other.

Kaidoh tried one last time. He looked straight at Inui. "What's the success rate of this plan?"

"That's the best part," Inui grinned, "One hundred percent."

All jaws, except Tezuka and Inui's, dropped. "One hundred percent, Inui?" Kawamura whistled, "No way...!"

"Yea, that can't be right," Eiji agreed and tilted his head in Kaidoh and Momo's direction, "They'd probably kill each other on the field first, before they even get around to playing!"

"According to my research, I am quite positive that things will work themselves out," Inui responded confidently.

Momoshiro groaned, "Well then, I guess this means we're set...right?"

Tezuka and Inui nodded. Kaidoh hissed. "Practice dismissed for today. Everything begins tomorrow," said Tezuka and he turned to leave the court.

The others followed close behind. Kaidoh grabbed Momoshiro by the wrist and kept him on the court as the others filed off. The slightly shorter man turned around and glared at the viper out of irritation. "What!"

Kaidoh hissed. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Eh? We were just dismissed! Are you _deaf?_"

"No, my hearing is perfect, unlike yours."

"What? What do you mean!"

"He said _official _practice was dismissed. That has nothing to do with us."

Momo groaned involuntarily, "You can't mean..."

Kaidoh nodded, his expression serious. "We're going to practice now."

"Why? It's going to get a bit darker soon! I need to get home for dinner..." Momo whined, just thinking about all the food was making him even hungrier.

The viper rolled his eyes. "Just like you, idiot. Thinking only about your stomach and never your game. Look. This is your first day towards becoming a more serious player, so I'll cut you some slack. _Once._"

"Great!" Momoshiro wrenched out of Kaidoh's grasp, "Then I guess I'll get going!"

"Hold it!" Kaidoh chased Momo, who was already going off in a sprint.

"Wha? Umph!!!" Momo was tackled to the ground by Kaidoh, who then pulled him back up and had a grip on his shirt.

"Where do you think you're going...?"

"You just said...!"

"_Baka_. You really _don't _think about anything else but your stomach, do you?"

Momoshiro blushed. Kaidoh sighed, "What I meant by cutting you some slack was, we practice for an hour, and then I'll let you go home."

"Eh?! And how long would _normal _practice be?"

"Until we can't see what we're doing anymore."

Momoshiro's jaw dropped and he tried helplessly to run away. "No way! No way, no way, no way! I won't do it! You can't make me!"

Kaidoh sighed and smacked his doubles partner on the head with his racket. "Yes way. We've been paired together and there's no avoiding it. And since _you're _so irresponsible, you'll be following my lead! Now c'mon!"

Momo moaned as he was being dragged away from the exit. "I don't believe this..."

* * *

"You know, Tezuka..." Oishi said just after they had left the court, at the start of another one of Kaidoh and Momo's tiring arugments, "Normally I trust your judgments, but are you really sure it was wise to pair those two up?" 

"Yes," came the one-word, firm reply.

Oishi had been so thrown off by Tezuka's straightforwardness, he didn't even bother to question further.

* * *

Kaidoh and Momoshiro ended up playing until it got quite dark anyway. Kaidoh had instigated Momo the entire practice, and Momo had gotten extremely competitive. All part of the viper's plan, he realized a bit too late, much to his dismay. 

Momoshiro dropped his racket and sprawled on the ground, breathing hard. "Geez...I can't take anymore."

Kaidoh sat down on the ground next to Momo's exhausted body and looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Hn. You're one big baby."

"Grr...ohhhh!" momoshiro moaned as he held his stomach.

The bandanna boy looked at him questioningly, "What now?"

If the sun was still shining, one could mistake Momo's body for a fresh corpse. "So...hungry...!"

"Wha—? Ah...ahahahaha!" Kaidoh threw his head back and laughed suddenly, surprising Momo.

Momo got up and looked at the viper with wide eyes. "What's so funny?"

Kaidoh composed himself and smirked at Momo. He poked Momo's forehead with his pointer finger, "_You_, baka."

"Huh? Why...?" Momo flushed.

Kaidoh shook his head. "Eh, nevermind..." his expression became serious again and Momo wished that the viper had stayed smiling.

The snake-boy hissed as he got up and brushed himself off. Momoshiro had to half-smile at this, he knew how much Kaidoh hated being dirty. Kaidoh was a neat freak. He blinked in surprise as the other held out his hand to Momo. Violet eyes locked with onyx ones and Momoshiro searched the viper for any hint of foul play. When he found none, he took Kaidoh's hand, which was surprisingly warm. Kaidoh helped him up and hissed in amusement.

"You're slow."

"Hmph. Shut up, mamushi."

They held hands for a while longer before letting go, though the action was so natural and insignificant that neither really noticed that the moment even happened. Both turned to pack their things. Momo looked at his glow watch and sighed when he saw the time. Eight-thirty at night meant that it was too late for him to ask his mother to cook anything; family dinners always ended promptly at seven. He figured he would just have to rummage his fridge or make himself some cup ramen.

"...eat?"

"Huh?" Momo slung his backpack over his shoulder and looked at Kaidoh in confusion, "Say again, mamushi?"

Kaidoh snorted, "Don't tell me you didn't hear a word I said."

"Um...I heard something about eating?" Momo suggested helpfully.

The snake-boy hissed and rolled his eyes. "Figures, you only hear the food part."

"Well, what did you say?"

"Heh, never mind, forget it," Kaidoh brushed past Momo to leave the court.

"Hey! Wait!" Momo jogged after him, "Mamushi! What about food?"

Kaidoh smirked. Teasing Momo was so easy. Making him curious was even easier. He didn't respond and just kept on walking.

Momoshiro frowned in annoyance. "Hey! Teme!"

"Unngh!" Kaidoh grunted as Momoshiro tackled his backside.

Kaidoh just grabbed Momoshiro's legs out of reflex and was now giving Momo a piggy-back ride. They both froze for a moment. Kaidoh frowned, he had no idea how this managed to happen. Momo breathed on Kaidoh's neck, causing the snake to hiss from the tickle and become even more infuriated. _"Wow, he's harder to knock over than he looks!" _Momo thought.

Momo took this opportunity to bother Kaidoh again, since Kaidoh didn't seem to be moving or struggling. "Okay, mamushi. I've caught you," according to Momo-logic, "So now tell me. What did you ask me?"

"Hn..." Kaidoh was greatly annoyed, Momo always seemed to get what he wanted in the end, "I asked you if you wanted to grab a bite to eat."

"Huh! Really?" Momo's ears perked up happily, "Okay! You're paying, right?"

"Eh??" Kaidoh frowned, he had no idea how Momo came up with that, "No! We each pay for our own meal. I just wanted to know if you wanted to eat something."

"What!" Momo frowned and used his hands to pull Kaidoh's cheeks, "What's the point of asking me to tag along if you're not going to pay!"

"Augh! Sthop dat!" Kaidoh said frustratedly, his lips unable to produce a proper sound.

Fearing that Kaidoh might violently toss him off, Momo let go and grabbed onto Kaidoh again. Kaidoh grunted and shifted weight. He still held onto Momo with one hand and rubbed his cheeks with the other. "You moron."

"You're paying!"

"Ugh, fine! Fine!" Kaidoh gave in, this was the last time he was going to invite the other to join him in _anything _other than practice, "Just this time."

"All right, great! Let's go!" Momo cheered.

"Hn, but first, you're getting off," Kaidoh let go of Momoshiro's legs.

"What? No!" Momo still crossed over Kaidoh's shoulders and he latched his legs on Kaidoh, making Kaidoh choke in some sort of odd headlock position.

"Augh!" Kaidoh grunted and pulled Momoshiro's legs up again.

He gasped for breath. "What was that for, idiot? You coulda killed me!" Kaidoh snapped.

Momoshiro laughed, "You wouldn'tve died, mamushi. It was sure funny, though."

"Hn. Fine. It was funny. Now it's over. Get off," he was about to let go again when Momo tightened his grip, "What's your problem??"

"Don't want to get off."

"What! Why?" Kaidoh was pissed now.

"Because..." Momoshiro groaned as his stomach growled again, "I'm so hungry...I don't think I can take another step, but I really want to eat something, mamushi."

Kaidoh sighed, "You're so lazy."

"No! I'm hungry!" Momoshiro whined.

He was hungry, true, but to be honest Momo now saw two advantages to this situation. The first being that he could torment Kaidoh and he wouldn't have to do any walking. The second reason was Momo was strangely comfortable on Kaidoh's back, and he didn't want to hop off just yet. It somehow brought back memories of a time before his two siblings were born, when he was younger. A time when his father gave him a ride on his back often, sometimes running quickly to give Momo the sensation of flying.

Kaidoh rolled his eyes. _"And now he's cranky," _Kaidoh thought, _"Just my luck. A hungry anything-eating monster on my back. Fushuu...how did I end up in this mess again?"_

"Fine," Kaidoh said, "Just until we get there. After we eat though, you're walking yourself home!"

"Okay!" Momo agreed happily.

"Hn..." Kaidoh narrowed his eyes and began walking.

He grew more irriated as they progressed. "You're so heavy, you baka."

"I know." Kaidoh's left eye twitched, the other boy's voice was smug.

"You're enjoying this way too much," Kaidoh groaned.

"No I'm not!" Momo protested sheepishly, "All right, you can let me off now!"

Kaidoh half-smiled and bounced Momo on his back once to readjust and keep the boy from sliding off. He kept Momo on his back despite Momo's sudden desire to get off. He had gotten one back on his rival, so now it didn't matter if the boy remained where he was. Besides, they were only a few minutes away from where Kaidoh had in mind.

"Such a kid," Kaidoh snorted, "Augh!"

Momoshiro grinned at Kaidoh's response to his kicking Kaidoh in the side. He smiled against Kaidoh's back to keep from laughing out loud and drawing attention to them. "Shut up, mamushi."

"Call me that one more time and I'm dropping you."

"Okay then, _teme_."

Momoshiro always seemed to know how exactly to give Kaidoh the perfect headache.

* * *

**Saikenyuu: **Ooookay! These chapters seem to get longer and longer than what I plan originally, hahaha. I guess that's a good thing? 

What do you guys think? What do you guys hope to see? (Though I can't promise it'll actually happen, but hey, it doesn't hurt to ask/suggest, right? Right.) Please leave a review if you can!


	4. A Different Kind of Performance

**Author's Note: **Thanks everyone for your support! I do hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! As of now, I'm developing this story rather quickly...I have bits and pieces done here and there, I just need to expand. I believe I've got up to chapter nine about fifty percent figured out, but I'm kind of at a block for my remaining planned chapters. So bad! Hopefully I'll overcome the plot block bug soon!

**Pairing(s): **Momo x Kaidoh

**Disclaimer and Warnings: **Refer to the first two chapters of this plot!

**Fic Note: **Not quite sure what to call this chapter. A filler? Teaser? Transition? Oh well. Hopefully you'll enjoy it, regardless!

Oh yeah, and I fixed some bloopers in earlier chapters...I caught some really embarrassing mistakes. I'm surprised no one called me on them...maybe you all were too disgusted to point out? Hahaha...(insert HUGE blush and sweatdrop combo here!).

**This chapter is dedicated to _Comtess_, thanks once again for reviewing! This is also dedicated to _StormyWeasel_, a new reviewer! Thanks so much for your review! It was encouraging, and hope to keep seeing ya for future chapters! This chapter is also dedicated to KitKat, another wonderful reviewer...and yes! You are absolutely right! I'm glad you caught onto that. Hope to see you comment again as well! **

**Last but not least, this chapter is also dedicated to the many readers and lurkers of this fic. I'm so glad that people are watching it progress!**

* * *

_A Different Kind of Performance_

Kaoru Kaidoh watched his rival from afar with annoyance. The boy was surrounded by many girls and working his charm on them. His recent win against an extremely tough opponent from another school had caused the girls of Seigaku to look at him differently. Kaidoh was pissed. He felt that his rival didn't deserve all that attention, not that he wanted any from girls or anything, but he thought that the boy's win had been a fluke. To top it off, Kaidoh was in a bad mood for no particular reason at all, and unfortunately his favorite target to pester during moments like this was currently tied up with _girls_. It irritated Kaidoh. His rival couldn't seem to do anything right.

"You should change your expression. No one will want to get near you if your face freezes that way."

Kaidoh's scowl deepened. _Echizen. _ The little brat had only recently popped into his life and onto the Seigaku team, but he was already getting on Kaidoh's nerves. The arrogant seventh grader already broke Momoshiro's annoyance record. At least Momo gave some sort of entertaining response. Echizen was just plain boring to torment.

"Hm. I guess I was too late in warning you. It seems your face is already a lost cause."

Kaidoh hissed. "What do you want, _Echizen?_"

Ryoma shrugged, "Just wanted to snap you out of it. You just look_stupid_ sitting there, glaring like that."

"Ch, why do you even care? It's none of your business."

"Never said I wanted to get involved, you just look pathetic," Ryoma said and started on his way, "Oh, and by the way, he's never going to notice if all you do is keep staring like that."

A blush formed on Kaidoh's cheeks, he hadn't realized he was being that obvious. Then again, he was always glaring at Momoshiro, so it didn't matter that Ryoma noticed, he guessed.

"Little punk..." he muttered and got up, brushing himself off, "Who does that kid think he is?"

He looked at where Momoshiro was from the corner of his eye. The other boy was laughing and definitely enjoying himself. Kaidoh shoved his hands in his pockets and grumbled as he went on his way. He was going to grab a small snack from his locker and then he planned on going to his classroom a bit early, to brush up on some problems before the pop quiz that was sure to happen that day, according to rumors from earlier classes.

* * *

"Momo, what are you doing?" asked Kawamura. 

"Shhh! I'm not here...!" Momo put a finger to his lips.

"Eh??"

"If anyone comes by, I'm not here, okay?"

"Er...all right..."

Momo let out a sigh as Kawamura left the room. He was hiding in a corner of a math classroom, between the closet that contained math textbooks and a wall, trying to hide from his recently acquired unofficial fan club. It had all been fun and games earlier, but having a flock of girls trail him everywhere was starting to exhaust him. Some of the rabid ones even attempted following him to the bathroom and the boy's locker room, much to his dismay. He had no idea how the more popular boys on the Seigaku tennis team even managed to survive the overflow.

He sat there for a while longer, debating within himself when the best time would be to finally get up and get going again. Eventually he fell asleep in the corner, undisturbed by the transition bell and the class session that followed.

It was the bell signaling the end of class and the loud scraping of desks that woke him up from his nap. He winced and rubbed his forehead where he made contact with the wall. It took him several minutes to reorient himself and realize that he was still in school.

"Hey, Kaidoh!"

Momoshiro stopped all movement at the mention of his rival's name. He heard the viper coolly respond, "Yeah, what's up?"

Momo felt silly eavesdropping, but he was both unsure of what to do and fascinated at the same time. He never pictured Kaidoh being able to talk to anyone other than the boys of the Seigaku tennis team. He also didn't want to reveal himself, since it seemed most of the students were either gone or packing last minute to leave the classroom. It would be odd to pop out of nowhere in front of his rival anyways, especially since this wasn't his last classroom.

"You busy today?"

"Eh...no, I don't think so."

"Really! No tennis?"

"Oh..." Momo could almost see his rival's eyebrows furrow, "Hn...actually, I guess I don't..."

Momo's heart sank a bit; Kaidoh had insisted on practicing after school. Of course, he reasoned, he wouldn't have waited for the viper if he had been a no show anyway, but he felt a bit more stood up now.

"Great! Then come with us, we need a favor from you in the auditorium."

"Eh?? Favor? Now hold on, what do you mean?"

"Oh, it won't be too hard, we promise. It's just drumming..."

"Drumming?"

"Uh-huh! Yeah, we need to practice for an upcoming gig. Will you help us?"

Silence. For a minute, Momoshiro wondered if Kaidoh died, or if he made a bolt for it. It was kind of amusing to Momo, he couldn't picture the guy doing favors for anyone.

"Come on, man, for old times sake?"

That was why he was shocked with Kaidoh's reply. "Heh. Yeah, sure, why not. When you put it that way, anyway."

"All right! C'mon, let's not waste any time!"

Momo blinked. He wondered if he had heard right. It seemed that Kaidoh had just accepted a favor from a random party; and drumming? Now that was curious. Momo had never seen Kaidoh do anything other than tennis in his life, so the idea of Kaidoh being able to do anything else just seemed a bit strange. With nothing better to do though, and seeing as Kaidoh had already indirectly abandoned him for some other group, Momo decided that he would just pack his things and head on home.

Of course, he would make a stop at the auditorium before leaving.

* * *

Momo hid behind the large auditorium doors and peeked his head behind the door. At first, all he could focus on was the size of the place. He hadn't gone in since orientation, so he received quite the sensory overload from seeing it all over again. He eventually recalled why he even came, and his eyes scanned the area for the viper. He found what he was looking for on the stage. 

Kaidoh looked so strange up there with the band, but after watching the viper interact with the band members for a few minutes, it was obvious to Momoshiro that they had to have all had a history together. It was still all odd to Momo though. He only knew of two main activities Kaidoh liked to do everyday, train and study, so this recreational activity seemed slightly out of place. He kept in his hidden place and watched with slight surprise as Kaidoh talked to the other band members, it was still strange to him how familiar the viper was with them.

"Oi! Kaidoh! Thanks for showing up, man!" this was the band leader, he had not been one of the voices Momo had heard recruiting the viper for the job.

"Yea, we're sorry for bothering you like this, but Shinji got sick and we need someone to fill in for tonight."

"Heh, no worries. I can't promise I'll be as good as he is, though, it's been a while."

"Yea it has! Man, ever since you quit just so you could play tennis..."

"Hey, hey! Don't put me on a guilt trip, yeah? I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yep! Guess you are!"

Momo was surprised to hear Kaidoh's genuine laugh. Kaidoh let it out so easily. The viper acted like such a stiff on the court half the time, he didn't think that hearing Kaidoh laugh or seeing him smile so voluntarily was even possible. The fact that Kaidoh was so different in this situation, it made him seem less like a prick and more like a normal teenager, having fun. To be honest, Momo was a bit jealous.

He began to wonder why Kaidoh wasn't like this towards him. Now that Momo thought about it, Kaidoh seemed to be okay with everyone on the team but him. That annoyed Momo. After all, he had tried to establish a reputation where he got along with most everybody. So what went wrong with the viper? He was obviously not hard to loosen up, as Momo could see here.

Momoshiro was thrown out of his thoughts when the band began to play. He was mostly jolted out of thought from Kaioh's rapid fill that began the drumming session. Momo looked on in a sort of awe. Although it sounded like Kaidoh indeed was a bit rusty, drumming still seemed like second nature to him. He watched his rival closely, though he couldn't see much from this distance. The sounds Kaidoh produced seemed so _natural_, it enticed him.

"Momo-chan! What are you doing there?"

Momoshiro jumped and turned quickly. "O-oishi senpai...!"

He blushed. It seemed he was getting caught in the most awkward situations so easily recently.

Oishi smiled at him, "C'mon! The guys are going to get something to eat! It's at Kawamura's place again, so it's all free!"

"Oh. R-right..."

"Hm?" Oishi looked past Momo's shoulder and smiled, "Hey! So that's where he went!"

"Eh?" Momoshiro remembered Kaidoh and flushed, he hoped this didn't look ridiculous to Oishi, "Yea..."

"Hm. Looks like we'll have to go without him. C'mon, Momo!"

"Okay..." he walked alongside Oishi as they headed to where the rest of the team was waiting for them.

Oishi broke the silence as they turned towards the entrance hallway. "So, you watched Kaidoh a bit, huh?"

"Ah?? Oh...yea, kinda."

Oishi smiled, "He's pretty good."

"I didn't think he was that great."

Oishi looked at him and chuckled. "That's not fair, Momo-chan."

"Well...!"

"How come you were watching him anyway, Momo-chan?" Oishi asked curiously.

Momoshiro turned beet red instantly. "It's not like I wanted to watch him! He was supposed to practice with me, but he never showed, and I was going to ask him why he stood me up...but then he got up on that stage and then..."

His friend seemed to be contemplative, "Then what?"

"I don't know...he just went on stage and just kind of..."

_"Happy?" _Oishi thought and grinned at Momo, this was getting rather interesting.

"You didn't think he had other friends, Momo-chan?" he teased.

Momoshiro almost choked on air. He rubbed the back of his neck furiously, still flushed. "Well...well, no! It's just..."

"How did you even know he was there, Momo-chan?"

"Er..." Momo didn't have an excuse to cover that one.

"Hm..." Oishi seemed to be thinking about something.

"Huh? What is it, senpai?" Momo asked quickly, hoping this was a motion for a change of subject.

They passed through double doors, exiting the school. "Oh, it's nothing."

Oishi had actually been contemplating over something Tezuka had mentioned to him sometime ago, when he had brought up the subject about the doubles pairings again, and when Momo and Kaidoh's name had somehow surfaced into the conversation. He had said something that seemed unreasonable at the time, but now that Oishi thought about it, Tezuka's observations now seemed a bit more justified.

"Huh?? C'mon, senpai! Tell me!"

"You just...seem jealous, Momo-chan," Oishi tested.

"What! Jealous for what??" Momo put a hand up to his cheek, hoping it would stop burning.

Oishi grinned suddenly, "Jealous that he wasn't busy arguing with you, and that he was having fun instead."

"..."

His friend laughed and patted him on the back. "Hey, don't worry about it, Momo-chan."

Momoshiro didn't say anything. He just looked a bit down. Oishi smiled and decided to help lift the other boy's spirits a bit. "Don't worry...because Kaidoh-kun will always pay special attention to Momo."

Momo's head snapped up, "What?"

Before he could question any further, Oishi had started running to close the distance between themselves and their friends who were waiting for them impatiently.

"Oishi-senpai!" Eiji said in annoyance, "What took you so long to find him? I'm starving!"

"Hey, where's Kaoru?" Kawamura questioned.

"Busy! But Momo-chan is coming with us!" Oishi said happily.

"Then let's not waste time then! Let's go!" Eiji said excitedly.

The team started walking and Momoshiro trailed close behind of them, thinking carefully about what his senpai had said.

_"Special attention...what is that supposed to mean?"_

* * *

**Saikenyuu:** All right, that seems about it for this chapter! Interesting...this was actually a bit shorter than the others. Anyways, until the next one, see you all! 

(In other news, I've finally updated my livejournal; the link can be found on my profile. I have completely renewed and updated it so that it states only the most current of my fiction projects and their progresses, so be sure to look that up if you're interested. If not, then see you soon! I'm going to try to be a little more faithful about updating that from now on!)


	5. Movie Night

**Author's Note: **Well, I had a short writer's block for this chapter, but I suddenly got an idea while driving in the car from the bookstore...after looking for a manga that wasn't there, then dumbly realizing that I reserved it for in-store pick-up...so now I'll have to go back later or something. Blech.

(Pairings, disclaimer, and everything else is all stated in earlier chapters.)

**Well, it seems that every chapter I have the honor to dedicate it to someone. This chapter is dedicated to my newest reviewer, Kaesaku! Thanks for reading and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

_As always, reviews and feedback from you readers, new and old, is greatly appreciated!_

* * *

_Movie Night_

If this was what Oishi had meant about Kaidoh giving him extra attention, Momo wasn't quite sure how to take it. He was currently being dragged away by a furious viper; everything had happened so quickly—the viper's intentions were unclear. Only a few seconds before, he had been talking to some girl who had been waiting outside the school, holding a rose. He was actually on his way to meet the other tennis players for a get-together after school, but Momo's curiosity of his former secret admirer had risen within himself again and he had approached the girl, determined to solve the mystery once and for all. When the conversation started, there had been no one in sight. Just when Momo discovered that the girl had actually been waiting for Ryoma, the viper had come out of nowhere and suddenly dragged Momo away in a rage.

Momo was now up against a wall of a secluded hallway and he was staring into Kaidoh's furious gaze. Momoshiro frowned and broke the silence once he gathered some of his composure. "Oi, mamushi! What's your problem?"

He flinched slightly when the short-tempered viper smacked his hand onto the wall beside Momo's ear. The sound was a bit too loud for Momo's liking.

"You...you're so stupid!" Kaidoh spat out.

Momoshiro couldn't help but narrow his eyes, he was not in the mood for this type of game. "Look, whatever it is, I'm sorry. Let's just call it a day and head back to the others."

Kaidoh's left eye twitched. The _others _was the reason why he was so irritated in the first place. If they hadn't volunteered him to go search for the ever so tardy Momoshiro, his day would have ended rather nicely.

"No," Kaidoh said stubbornly, he was still trying to form his words to express what he was thinking.

"No?" Momo was starting to get irritable himself, "What do you mean, _no_? Look, we don't have time for this, all right? The others are waiting. Either get to the point, or just drop it."

"No, meaning I _won't _drop it, until you realize how _stupid _you are."

"Well then, why don't you tell me already! Don't keep me in suspense!" Momo snapped.

"I just can't believe how you're still hung up over the flowers! Can't you just forget about them and move on, instead of asking every other girl you meet about them?"

It took Momoshiro a moment to think about what Kaidoh was saying. Realization immediately became confusion again. "Wait, what does that have to do with you?"

Kaidoh was no longer thinking about what he was saying, he was on a roll now. "I'm saying that girl you were talking to. She isn't the one who sent you those flowers that day."

"What? Oh, her? I know already! She was looking for Ryoma."

"Yes, she was looking for Echizen, and the truth about your flowers is, no girl gave them to you. They were from me, as a practical joke to make you think that someone actually cared about you on Valentine's Day. Wait...the girl was looking for _Echizen_? Heh...I guess the brat is already starting to round up some fans," Kaidoh snorted as he said the last part.

Momo's heart sank and his expression changed from one of fury to one that was unreadable. "Just a second..." his voice was dangerously light, "Did you say...those flowers were a practical joke?"

Kaidoh froze. "Er..."

Suddenly it all suddenly started to fit for Momo. That was why there was never any follow-up to the sender of the acacias, because it had all been staged by Kaidoh. He suddenly began to wonder if the rest of the stuff he had received had been fake too. He didn't want to know.

He didn't know where he got the energy, but he somehow managed to lift his arms to slowly push Kaidoh an arm's distance away from him. He locked his gaze with Kaidoh, still with that unreadable expression.

"T...Takeshi," it was Momo's first time hearing Kaidoh try to call him something other than the usual names the viper enjoyed calling him.

He was a bit surprised that Kaidoh used his first name, of all options, but he was too annoyed to really care about it.

"You know what? Let's just go," Momo said, shaking his head at Kaidoh, "Forget about this. Besides, we've made them wait a long time."

With that, Momo walked away, feeling a stronger dislike for Kaidoh than ever before. Kaidoh stood where he was a while, looking miserable, and then slowly followed Momo's path in silence. They were soon greeted by their teammate's moans and whines about their lateness before they all took off together to Oishi's house to watch a few horror films that they had rented for a movie night.

* * *

He was still angry at Kaidoh, no doubt about it, but he couldn't help feeling like forgiving the viper, just a little. They had been watching _Ringu_. The movie didn't bother Momo one bit; he was a big fan of horror, but he couldn't help noticing Kaidoh's presence every time he shifted in his seat, trying to avoid what was happening on screen and letting his eyes flit about the room. Each time he moved, Momo would notice immediately because of the sound Kaidoh would make, brushing against the couch. It didn't seem to bother the other young tennis players, since they all seemed to be involved with the story, but Momo had seen _Ringu _so many times, it was hard not to get distracted when watching it now. 

Momoshiro hid his amusement when Kaidoh suddenly jumped up from his seat and tried to pretend it was nothing more than a stretch. The others on the couch and the ground grunted unconsciously as they shifted in their seats.

"Something wrong, Kaidoh-kun?" Oishi asked, looking up at the viper from where he was sitting.

"Aw, I bet he's scared," Kawamura teased, never taking his eyes off of the screen.

Kaidoh blushed furiously. "No...no...I think I'm going to grab a bite to eat from the fridge...that okay?"

"Sure, Kaidoh-kun!"

"Thanks," he replied to Oishi and glared at Kawamura's backside before ducking into the kitchen.

* * *

He entered the swing door into the kitchen, leaned on a counter, and sighed. Although he wouldn't admit it himself, Kaidoh was a bit of the romantic type that liked watching more peaceful movies, but only if he absolutely had to. He mostly preferred jogging at all times of the day or doing some kind of physical activity, rather than sitting home and wasting time in front of a television set. Kaidoh was also not a huge fan of the horror genre; it always left him feeling hyper-sensitive of his surroundings. 

Debating whether or not to actually get some food, Kaidoh scanned the room. His breathing began to quicken a bit when he realized how alone he was in the kitchen. There was a window on one side with the shadow of trees and darkness scaring him a bit, causing Kaidoh to wonder if something would come through the window. It was silly, he knew, but he even felt a little scared when his eyes landed on the cutlery. He remembered watching a movie once where the girl was possessed by a demon-spirit and was forced to kill herself. Kaidoh backed up against the counter and gripped the edge tightly, running his tongue over his lips to wet them. It was a bit eerie for him here, but he definitely wasn't going to go back to the others; he was pretty sure he would only end up getting more ideas in his head.

He wondered how much longer until the movie's end.

* * *

When Kaidoh didn't come out for a good hour, Momo got a bit curious. The way Kaidoh had made it sound before, the boy was only dipping in the kitchen for a brief snack. Kaidoh seemed to be having a full-out meal. Momo wondered if the other was cooking something, maybe cleaning out Oishi's fridge. He decided he was going to go and check it out, since the rest of the team wasn't being very productive. They were watching their third horror movie and they planned on watching two more before calling it quits. Momo had already seen the movies a million times over and was starting to get extremely bored. No one wanted to talk about anything other than what was going on with the characters in each film and their developments. A bit disgusted, he finally got up from his seat. 

"Hey, Oishi. I think I'm going to go through your fridge too."

"Hmm?? Oh…okay," Oishi responded absently, waving Momoshiro away.

Momo chuckled at Oishi's zombie-like state and headed for the kitchen. He hoped Kaidoh was making some good food; he was getting real hungry.

He was surprised to find a panic-stricken Kaidoh gripping the edge of a counter tightly. Momo kept the door open only slightly and observed Kaidoh through the crack with curiosity. His jaw dropped when he realized that Kaidoh seemed scared. He didn't know whether to be thoroughly amused or a bit concerned about the viper, since this wasn't usual viper behavior. Momo was used to Kaidoh's tough exterior and mean comments.

"Hey."

Kaidoh jumped a bit and clenched his fist involuntarily at his side as he turned to face Momo, who had just stepped in. He was both relieved for Momo's presence and embarrassed that the other was seeing him in such a vulnerable state. A blush was slowly rising to his cheeks.

"What…do you want, baka?" he managed.

Kaidoh really was scared, Momo realized in disbelief. The air of confidence in Kaidoh was gone and that interested Momo. He decided to be nice to the snake.  
He stepped a bit closer; Kaidoh kept where he was. "You've been in here a long time, did you get something to eat?"

Kaidoh just shook his head. His mind was blank of any insults, which irritated him. Momoshiro smiled. "So what were you doing then?"

Kaidoh's blush deepened. He hissed. "Just standing here, all right? The movie was boring," the viper's eyes narrowed, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh? Uh…" Momoshiro thought for a second, "Well, I guess I came to get a quick bite to eat and well…the movie was kinda creeping me out."

Kaidoh relaxed a bit. So he wasn't the only one that was afraid. "Really? You're scared?"

Momoshiro almost burst out into laughter; Kaidoh seemed to suddenly regain a bit of confidence. He realized how easy it was to stroke the viper's ego.

"Yeah, man!" he continued, "All that gore? Way too much for me. I don't know how the other guys stand it."

"Heh, chicken," Kaidoh smiled a bit.

Momo pretended to look insulted. "What?? I'm not a chicken!!"

"Hah. I'm sure. _Moron_."

"Hey. Now just a second,_ mamushi_! That's not fair!"

"Heh. You know you're stupid. That's why you came running in here instead of facing your fears like a man!" Kaidoh grinned.

"Hmph! Isn't that what you were doing here too, mamushi?"

The expression on Kaidoh's face was priceless. "What? Huh? What makes you say that?" Kaidoh became a bit flustered again.

"Well, what other reason would you have? I don't see any food out. And if I remember correctly, you said you were going to get food a good hour ago," Momoshiro grinned.

"An hour...has it really been that long?" Kaidoh asked.

"Heh. Yeah. And they're still going at it."

"Really?" Kaidoh seemed to pale a bit, "How much longer are they going to do that?"

Momo was having too much fun. He knew he was probably never going to see Kaidoh this vulnerable again, so he was going to take full advantage of this moment.

"Oh, I don't know...for a long time, I guess," Momo tried to say it as nonchalantly as possible.

"Aa..." Kaidoh could no longer look at Momo, he seemed to be thinking very hard about something.

Momoshiro smiled to himself. It quickly faded when his mind wandered and he started thinking strange ideas like about how approachable Kaidoh was now and how he sort of wanted to comfort the viper. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the snake-boy suddenly looked up at him and said something which Momo didn't quite catch.

"Say again, mamushi?" Momoshiro blinked.

Kaidoh rolled his eyes. "I said, do you want to go back and watch with them?"

It probably took Kaidoh quite a bit of inner debate before coming up with that suggestion, Momo knew. He weighed his options before giving his answer.

"Nah. Not really..." his lips twitched, tempted to form a smile, when he saw Kaidoh's obviously relieved expression.

They were engulfed in silence for a while. Momo shifted his weight on his feet and Kaidoh seemed to be torn between the options of fishing for something to say and just being anti-social altogether.

Rubbing his neck, he finally broke the silence. "So...I guess there's only one thing we can do until they're done, na?"

"Eh?? And what's that, mamushi?"

"Fushuu. You don't use your brain at all, do you, idiot? Since we're in Oishi's kitchen, I think we should look around and make some food to eat."

"Food? Hah! I was hoping you'd say that!"

"Hn. You always do only think with your stomach."

"Huh? Hey! I resent that, mamushi!"

"Heh, whatever. Baka."

* * *

Kaidoh actually turned out to be quite the cook. The boy had gotten together several things from Oishi's fridge and cabinets and managed to make a small feast of it, with a soup as a sort of side dish along with pasta as the main meal. As they ate, all the while Momo looked on at Kaidoh and wondered if the boy had any other hidden talents. The viper was certainly full of surprises. 

"What are you looking at?"

"H-huh?" Momoshiro snapped back to reality, "N-nothing. Just spacing out..."

"Hn," the snake was unbelieving.

"What! I was!" Momoshiro whined a bit.

Kaidoh snorted, "Heh. I never said I didn't believe you, baka."

"Ch, right. I know you were thinking it."

"Whatever you say."

Momoshiro groaned. "Damn, can't we at least just eat in peace?" his voice had a hint of annoyance.

The viper chuckled, "Heh, sure, baka. You started it, anyway."

Momoshiro sighed and the two resumed eating. After a while Momo's eyes trailed over to Kaidoh again. He slowly moved his gaze up to the viper's face once more and stayed there a while, not thinking of much in particular; his gaze just seemed to gravitate there. Feeling Momo's eyes on him again, Kaidoh lifted his gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"You got a problem, moron?"

Momo shook his head, "No...but uh..."

"Yea?"

"You got something here," Momoshiro said and let his tongue point to the part of Kaidoh's lip where a piece of seaweed from the soup was stuck.

"Oh," Kaidoh slid his tongue across his lips, trying to find and catch the seaweed, but it was just a bit too attached.

"Is it gone?" Kaidoh asked.

Momoshiro shook his head, "No...no, still there. Here, lemme help you out."

Before Kaidoh could protest and insist on doing it himself, Momoshiro leaned over and automatically cupped a part of Kaidoh's face and ran his thumb over the part of the viper's lip that needed to be cleaned. The action sent a strange shiver down Kaidoh's body and Momo's heart gave a light flutter. The two froze like that for a while, both their expressions in a mixture of shock and confusion.

They recovered quickly, both parting from one another and returning their focus to their food, faces both flustered. They finished eating in silence and never once looked at each other again for the rest of the night. They didn't even bother each other when they went back to the others still in the living room. Luckily for them, the other boys were too tired by that point to notice anything was wrong and they asked no questions. By the time Momo and Kaidoh had returned to the rest of the Seigaku group, the boys were already getting in their sleeping bags for lights out.

While the other group members had no problems getting to sleep right away, Kaidoh and Momo found themselves wide awake. Their backs were turned to each other and they were on opposite ends of the living room. Kaidoh brushed lightly over his lips and found himself wondering why, when Momo had his finger to his lips, he had wanted to suck on the other boy's finger. Momo was also wondering about their moment in the kitchen, but he was pondering over why his heart had skipped a beat and why he had felt the sudden urge to kiss the viper. Both boys remained mostly restless for the rest of the night while the rest of their teammates slept soundly on.

* * *

**Saikenyuu: ** Man, this chapter was really hard to plug out! Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this. There were quite a few developments I wanted to add after writing the original first draft, which seemed really dry. (Not to mention it was only three pages; this one is five.) Anyway, I've planned out a bit of the next chapter and I will be starting on writing that tomorrow, but for now? I'm going to be happy with my current progress and call it a day. If you all have the time, I hope to hear from you in a review! Till the next installment, see you all later! 


	6. Give it Back!

**Author's Note: **Been real busy working on this fic. I'm actually determined! It started out a bit slow but it's starting to grow on me now...I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

(Pairings, disclaimer, and whatnot is all in the first two to three chapters.)

**Once again, dedicated to Kaesaku who has returned once again and left a very sweet review! Don't be shy to say more, too! I like it when people comment on something in the story, like "Oh, I liked that part" or "Hm, I'm kinda disappointed that happened" or even a hinthint for something you'd like to see.**

**Also dedicated to wonderful StormyWeasel! Yes, horror movies are baaad...well, not everyone will agree with us but hey, I personally think that horror movies are unnecessary to my health. I have an overactive imagination as it is.**

**Last but not least, dedicated to Ohjisama. Thanks so much for your sweet review! And yes, I always love hearing feedback from new reviewers.**

_All reviews are appreciated and loved! Oh yes, and love all you readers too! _

* * *

"_Give it Back!"_

As the Seigaku regulars, they were practically celebrities; so it was easy to forget that they had to maintain a balanced school life as well. Studying for tests, for example, was something that slipped their minds some of the time. Studying never slipped Momoshiro's mind ever. Well, except for that particular week. Since the movie night, thoughts of a certain viper couldn't ever seem to dislodge themselves from his mind. He was distracted by Kaidoh so badly the entire week, he didn't have the right state of mind to study. What was even more frustrating for Momo was that although he still felt strangely around the viper, his rival tennis player didn't seem to act any differently towards Momo. This was both infuriating and frustrating. He didn't want to be the only one who felt something from that night, but he didn't want Kaidoh to care about what had happened either. It was just too awkward for Momo to approach and sort out for now.

The bell rang and everyone got seated for homeroom; on this particular day it was everyone's last class. All the Seigaku regulars were placed in the same homeroom by the school, even Ryoma. It was an unofficial rule that regulars should be allowed at least one class where they were all together. The room became hushed as students were about to receive the results of a general school-wide exam that they had recently taken. It was a test that measured the general abilities of each student and was the first of three tests for that year that would help to determine a student's class placement for their next year of Seigaku or for high school.

Momoshiro kept his head buried in his hands as he waited for the teacher to walk by and drop off his paper. He was dreading this moment. Although the school had a policy for disregarding the worst test score, if there was a significant gap between the first test and the other two scores from the later placement tests, Momo didn't want to have to work twice as hard in studying for the other two placement tests to make up for any drawbacks. When the teacher finally put his graded test packet on his desk, Momo opened his eyes, held his breath, and flipped to the front page slowly to view his result.

* * *

Momo's expression darkened and he crumpled the thin test packet slightly in his hand. The bell rang, signifying the end of homeroom. He had known for sure that he probably didn't do well on the test, but he hadn't expected bombing it entirely, which he had. Not only was this a big blow to his grade, it also gave him something to worry about. If he didn't make a significantly higher score on the next two tests, he would probably end up in some sort of remedial class next year. It was not something Momoshiro was looking forward to. 

"Momo-chan! I actually made the A this time! What'd you get? Wait, don't tell me. Perfect paper, right?" Oishi said smiling, coming up to Momoshiro, "You always do!"

Momoshiro didn't respond to him, he just kept quiet. Meanwhile, the viper watched the two of them carefully from the corner of his eye, his perfect packet still laying facedown on his desk. His arms were crossed over his chest.

Oishi frowned upon seeing Momo's expression, "Hey Momo, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Momo finally seemed to snap out of it and managed to give Oishi a fake smile, "Nothing! I did great!"

"You did?? That's so great! I knew you would! We should go celebrate after school, Momo! I think almost everyone passed this time. I haven't checked with a couple of them yet, but so far everyone seems to have marked high!"

Momoshiro wanted to just scream out in irritation. He knew Oishi wasn't of malicious intent, but his words hurt Momo and made him feel more like a failure.

"Actually...I have something to do after school today, senpai, sorry."

"Oh...okay! The idea was kind of out of the blue anyway. Hope you have fun, whatever you're doing!"

"Yea...I will."

Just about everyone had filed out of the classroom at that point. Oishi was soon gone as well, off to recruit some of the Seigaku regulars to hang out. Momo was almost the last one to leave; he was still a bit stunned about his grade. He didn't want to believe it. When Momoshiro finally walked out of the classroom Kaidoh was pretty close behind; he had packed his belongings slowly that class period.

* * *

"Hey, moron!" 

Momoshiro signed when he heard the viper's voice. The boy was the last person he wanted to see at the moment, and he certainly wasn't in the mood for any teasing.

"Go away, mamushi."

"Heh," Kaidoh said and jogged to catch up with Momo and slowed to a regular walk when he reached the other.

"What do you want, teme?" Momo insulted half-heartedly.

"This!" Kaidoh snatched the test paper from Momo's hand, "You made such a ruckus in class, making everyoe think you got the best grade ever. You make some people who work hard feel bad, you know?"

Momoshiro's eyes widened in panic as he realized what just happened. "Hey! Give that back, teme!"

Kaidoh smirked, "Make me, chibi."

Momoshiro blushed a bit at the new insult, "Hey, I'm not _that _much shorter than you! I'm practically your height!"

Kaidoh grinned, "But you're having so much trouble."

"Shut up, mamushi! Give it back!" Momoshiro jumped for the packet, but Kaidoh was too quick for him.

"Heh. See, this is how out of shape you are. You can't even jump high enough to grab something as simple as this. What if this was a sandwich or something in my hand right now? You would be devastated."

Momoshiro growled, "Would you stop playing games already, you annoying snake?"

"Hn, but this is very entertaining...let me think. No. I don't think so," Kaidoh said and started running away with Momo's test in his hand.

Momoshiro's eyes grew large and round, his face became flushed with a mix of embarrassment and rage. He started to chase after the viper. "Hey! Get back here!"

"No way! I think I'm going to take this paper home! I'd like to show my parents an A for once."

Momo panicked even more, "No! No, you can't! That's my test!"

Kaidoh raised an eyebrow. He didn't think that the test could be that bad, but he was curious as to why Momoshiro was making such a big fuss over his taking it. He stopped for a second and took a glance at the paper. His jaw almost dropped when he saw the grade. His hesitation gave enough time for a pissed Momoshiro to tackle him from behind, almost throwing him off balance.

"Hey, get off me!" Kaidoh pushed Momoshiro away.

Momo was on the verge of tears. He was pissed. "You had no right to look at that, you asshole."

The expression in Kaidoh's eyes changed ever so slightly that one would never catch the softness in them, if one wasn't looking for it.

"Hey..." the viper brought his hand down, putting the paper in Momo's outstretched hand and put a gentle hand on Momo's head, patting it down.

Momoshiro looked up in confusion, after taking his paper back. A small blush formed across his face, "What are you doing, mamushi?"

Kaidoh looked away for a second, he seemed to be torn between tormenting Momo further or actually comforting the guy. He sighed and stared straight into Momo's violet eyes, his hand still on Momo's head. "You want to...go out to eat today?"

"Huh?" Momo blinked.

"Tch, you heard me. Is your head really that bad?" Kaidoh winced at his insult, it was the wrong time for it.

Momo's expression darkened. "Yes. It is. And no, I'm fine," he began to stomp away.

Kaidoh caught him by the arm. Momo turned his head and flashed a glare. "What! What is it, teme??"

"...I'll pay."

Momoshiro blinked, "What...?"

Kaidoh shifted his weight on his feet, seeming uncomfortable suddenly. "I said...I'll pay. Let's just go eat, okay?"

"O...okay," Momoshiro responded, for lack of anything better to say.

Kaidoh started walking in the opposite direction than they usually did with their friends, leading Momo to a restaurant where they would probably not run into too many people they knew. Momo walked alongside Kaidoh in silence, not quite sure what to make of the viper now.

Dinner ended up being really nice. The food tasted like the cook had put a lot of effort into it, since not too many customers seemed to flow into this place Kaidoh had led him to. On top of it, Kaidoh was actually pretty quiet for once, which was nice for Momo, he felt more relaxed. That didn't stop him from feeling a bit unsettled, though. He kept wondering why Kaidoh was being so nice to him and he wanted to know what the snake-boy's true intentions were. Whatever the viper's malicious intent, true or totally imagined by Momo, the viper was very good about hiding them. Momo never once detected any ulterior motive that night.

The viper even walked him home after dinner. As Momo closed his low front gate behind him, he found himself watching Kaidoh continue down the sidewalk in the same neighborhood. It was then Momo seemed to realize how close he actually lived to Kaidoh. The viper passed about three more houses before crossing the street to reach his house, which was the one with a blue door on the other side.

Momoshiro went into his house, after Kaidoh disappeared from sight, and went straight to his room. He dumped all that he was carrying with him in a corner and flopped onto his bed, draping an arm over his forehead while he stared at the ceiling. After a while his eyes began to droop, and he decided to roll over and go to sleep.

He would tell his parents about the grade tomorrow. Right now, he just felt really good.

* * *

_Whap!_

"Ugh, teme!" Momoshiro said with irritation, "You're so sloppy!"

_Thwack!_

"Heh, you're no better yourself! You're so out of practice..." Kaidoh grunted.

_Crack!_

"Hah! You're no better yourself!"

_Thunk!_

"Ow! Hey! What was that for?"

"For getting on my nerves," Kaidoh said, "You don't realize the seriousness of this practice, do you? You've been so busy not showing up to our private practices to play video games at the arcade or eating food, we're not even prepared for the first group practice that's coming up next week! Tezuka is going to be assessing our abilities then, or have you forgotten?"

"Ch, my skills are perfectly fine! And just because you don't know how to have fun and relax, doesn't give you the right to lecture me, teme!"

To be honest Momo felt guilty because he knew that the times they didn't practice, Kaidoh had been with him, cheering him up for something or another.

"What! What did you call me?"

Kaidoh wasn't really upset; in fact, he was a bit relieved that their fight relationship seemed to be back to normal. It had been awkward for a time, Kaidoh had been unsure when to tease Momo or when to actually be nice. Kaidoh didn't really want to fight with Momo these days, but he couldn't seem to handle any other situation with his rival. He couldn't tell for sure, but Momoshiro seemed to be the same way.

"What I always call you. Teme, teme, teme!"

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"You...!" Kaidoh lunged for Momoshiro and then the tension from the week was broken at last.

They became involved in a half-playful tussle. It was nice for the both of them, neither really thought about much else besides beating each other. Momoshiro ended up being the winner after catching Kaidoh off-guard and tackling him down. The awkward position they were in, however, was not part of the plan. Both boys were breathing hard, Momo was straddled on top of Kaidoh, one hand on Kaidoh's shoulder and his other wrist locked in midair by Kaidoh's hand, preventing him from doing anything with it. Their faces were quite close. Momoshiro knew he had to get off, but his body didn't seem to be cooperating with common sense. He looked helplessly at Kaidoh, whose expression seemed to be changing into one of confusion, as if he wasn't sure what to do himself.

"Now I see why you enjoy practices so much, Kaoru," came the amused voice of his sister.

Both boys froze. Kaidoh slowly looked up from where he was, "K-Kei...!"

The two detached rather quickly. Kei's lips twitched as she tried to suppress a smile.

"Y-you're early," Kaidoh stuttered as got up.

Kei laughed, "What do you mean, early? I'm right on time. You said pick you up at three, right? It's 3:01 right now."

"Eh?"

Momoshiro blushed and looked up from his watch, "Uh...she's right, mamu—uh, Kaoru."

"Oh, so you guys are on first-name basis too?" Kei asked, amused.

It was Kaidoh's turn to blush. "What! Of course not!" he glared at Momo, "He meant to call me Kaidoh, isn't that right, _Momoshiro_?"

Momoshiro was just about to agree when Kei laughed again. "All right, all right, Kaidoh, I get it. Say, Momo, you busy? I'm about to take Kaidoh home, so, you want to come over and have dinner with us?"

"Huh...? Ah...sorry, I don't think I can..." Momoshiro mumbled, trying not to make contact with Kaidoh's face.

"Really? That's too bad. Do you want a ride home then?"

"No, it's okay. Thanks though...Kei, was it?" Momo asked, trying to remember what Kaidoh had called her when she first came.

Kei nodded and smiled. "Yep! That's it! Well, Kaidoh and I have got to go. See you next time, all right?" she turned to Kaidoh, "C'mon, let's go."

"All right..." Kaidoh began to follow Kei and turned around to look at Momo one last time with an unreadable expression.

Momoshiro just shrugged at him. He wasn't sure what else Kaidoh was expecting him to do. Once Kaidoh was away from view, Momo shoved a hand in his pocket and bent down to pick up his racket. He packed everything in his bag and was ready to leave when he realized that Kaidoh had left his tennis ball on the ground. He stared at it and then walked on by, bag slung over his shoulder. He stopped after taking a few steps, turned back around and picked it up. He placed the ball in his pant pocket and then continued his way towards home.

* * *

"You seem kind of disappointed that I came at all," Kei said to her brother, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. 

Kaidoh didn't say anything. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was staring outside his window. Kei smiled. They drove in silence for a while when Kei finally decided to break the silence.

"You know...Momoshiro seems like a nice guy."

Kaidoh seemed to almost pout. "He's a pain in the ass, that's what he is."

"Hey, be nice, Kaidoh," Kei said.

"Hn..." was Kaidoh's reply.

"Anyway, I thought Momoshiro was kind of cute. He must be real popular with the girls at Seigaku, huh, Kaidoh?"

She now had Kaidoh's full attention. He turned to face her. "What?"

Kei had to suppress the urge to laugh. "I said your friend was kind of cute."

"He's not my friend. And Kei!"

"What?"

"You're so much older than him! How can you think he's cute?"

Kei smiled, "I never said I was going to go out with him or anything. Although, I think that if I was around your age, I would totally have a crush on him."

"Ugh, Kei!" Kaidoh was annoyed; he knew that nothing would ever happen or develop between Momoshiro and his sister, but her teasing bothered him.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Kaidoh didn't like the idea of many girls expressing an interest in his rival. In fact, he wasn't really thrilled with the idea of Momo ever ending up with a girlfriend either.

Kei laughed, as if reading Kaidoh's thoughts of frustration, "Relax, Kaoru. I'm only kidding."

"Well it isn't funny."

She parked the car in their driveway. "Okay! We're home!"

"Great," Kaidoh grumbled and got out of the car.

They walked side by side to their front door. "So, does he?" Kei asked once more; she couldn't resist.

"Huh? Does he what?" Kaidoh looked at his older sister, confused.

"Does he attract a lot of girls at school?" Kei rephrased, grinning.

Kaidoh flushed and rubbed at his face with his hand, as if that could get rid of it. "Not that again, Kei!"

"Well, does he?"

"I don't know, okay!" Kaidoh snapped, "Let's just get inside."

"Haha, all right, all right. You know...this sort of talk shouldn't bother you so much though. Is there something you're not telling me, baby brother?"

"What...?" Kaidoh stopped a moment and a frown slowly formed across his face.

Kaidoh seemed to be debating something within himself and then he shook his head at his sister. "No. No, Kei. There's nothing."

Kei half-smiled and watched her younger brother go into the house.

"Oh, but I think there is something," she whispered to no one in particular and walked inside as well, closing the door gently behind her.

* * *

It was the regulars' test day. It was a routine group practice that they held twice a month to make sure that their doubles' teams were still effective. Kaidoh and Momo were supposed to go first, but Kaidoh had woken Kei up late, so they ended up being tardy for practice. 

"Kaidoh, Momoshiro! Five laps for being late," Tezuka said cooly.

"What! Hey, it wasn't my fault I was late! Mamushi here overslept!" Momoshiro whined.

"Did you wake up on time this morning?" Tezuka asked.

"Um...yes?"

"Then you were responsible for calling Kaidoh up and waking him," said Tezuka.

Momoshiro groaned, "You don't understand, I would, but..."

"Enough excuses. Do you want Tezuka-san to offer you more laps?" Fuji asked.

"Huh? N-no!" Momoshiro shook his head furiously.

"Then I suggest you get started on your laps," Fuji said with a small smile, "In fact, it seems you're already behind Kaidoh by two laps."

"What!" Momoshiro couldn't believe his eyes, Kaidoh was running laps around the court.

He chased after the viper. "Ooh, mamushi! You teme! Why did you start without me?"

"Why should I wait for you?" Kaidoh asked.

"Because _you're _the reason we have to do this anyway! You and your oversleeping sister!"

"What about my sister?" Kaidoh frowned.

"Ah..." Momoshiro sweat dropped; he regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

"I mean..."

"I'm gunna get you for bad-mouthing my sister! You don't even know her!" Kaidoh growled and picked up his pace.

Momoshiro gulped. "Hey, Kaidoh..." he tried using Kaidoh's last name instead of his usual insult, hoping to calm the viper down, "Kaidoh, I didn't mean it! Kai—ahhh!"

Five laps became ten in an instant as Kaidoh rapidly chased after Momoshiro on the tennis court. The others watched in silence. Eiji, Kawamura, and Oishi were placing bets on the end result of Kaidoh and Momo's argument while Inui took notes. Fuji seemed slightly amused and Ryoma was to the side warming up for his doubles practice game. Tezuka had been waiting for the boys to stop, but they didn't seem to be slowing down. He stopped them when it seemed as if the two tennis players had regressed to a basic cat-and-mouse game, forgetting why they were even arguing in the first place.

"That's enough, Kaidoh and Momoshiro."

Both boys came to an almost immediate halt. They were both out of breath and panting. Momoshiro was slightly bent over, but still looking up at Tezuka while Kaidoh seemed to recover a bit faster since he was more in shape.

"You boys just finished a good nine or ten laps," Tezuka continued, "And you are the first game of the day. Get on the court and show us what you've got. You will be going against Oishi and Eiji."

"All right! Piece of cake," Eiji said, grinning, "Ain't that right, Oishi?"

Syuichiroh laughed, "Yeah, we'll have them beat in no time, don't worry."

"Hah! You're on!" Momoshiro said, smiling, "Mamushi and I have been practicing."

"Oh, big deal," Eiji snorted, "Like that's really going to make a difference with you two."

"Hey! That's not nice! We'll win against them, won't we, mamushi?"

Kaidoh grunted and prepared his racket. "Whatever, baka. Just don't screw up."

"Ugh, you're no help, mamushi," Momoshiro groaned.

"And why would I help you? Baka."

"Teme!"

"Enough," Tezuka cut into the argument, "Whenever you all are ready...begin!"

The match was an interesting one. At first, Kaidoh and Momoshiro had been so busy arguing they were falling behind in the game, but then Kaidoh had said something that irritated Momo into silence, and the game flow seemed to change from that point. Kaidoh apologized to Momo sometime afterward and then provoked him into another, but less heated, argument. They seemed to focus more on the game then, and slowly made up for lost time. Before they realized it, they had won the game against Oishi and Eiji.

"And that's Kaidoh and Momoshiro's win!" Kawamura said excitedly, "That was crazy! Good job, you guys!"

"Yea, good game you two," Oishi said to them.

"Hn," was Kaidoh's only reply; Momo seemed to be a bit dumbfounded.

"What just happened...?" Momoshiro asked, dazed.

Fuji chuckled, "You won the game, Momoshiro. Congratulations."

"Eh?? Won? With mamushi?" Momoshiro still seemed confused; he didn't notice the viper's glare.

"Yes. Amazing, isn't it," said Ryoma.

"I never doubted my calculations for a second," Inui said with slight pride in his voice.

"Good job, Kaidoh and Momoshiro, you've finally come through," Tezuka seemed pleased with them for once, "If you both have someplace to be, you are dismissed unless you want to remain and study everyone else's playing style."

"No, I'm good!" Momoshiro said quickly, then turned to Kaidoh, "Hey, is your sister here yet? Let's go home."

Tezuka's generosity was hard to come by and Momoshiro was not about to miss out on the opportunity.

"Hn...and if I don't want to leave?" Kaidoh said.

Momo rounded his eyes in a begging expression, "Oh c'mon, mamushi...I said I was sorry about what I said before...!"

Kaidoh didn't respond at first, he just stared at Momo. After a moment, he agreed. "All right then, baka. Let's get you home."

"All right! Thank you, thank you, mamushi!"

"Hn...whatever," said Kaidoh as he walked for a pay phone to call up his sister, Momoshiro following him close behind.

For some reason, he just couldn't resist his rival's beautiful eyes.

* * *

**Saikenyuu: **Oh man! It's been a whole two weeks, huh? It's been a while. Actually, this chapter originally ended right after Momoshiro went home after Kaidoh cheered him up at the beginning of the fic...but I got to thinking before I posted it, that maybe I wanted a little something more to happen...so that's why this took so long! Hope to get the next chapter out soon! 


End file.
